Of Christmas and Ancient Spirits
by Nighte Thief
Summary: Bakura has his first meeting with Christmas time, goes to the mall, and discovers Christmas trees and snow.
1. Bakura and Christmas Trees

_**Of Christmas and Ancient Spirits**_

_**A/N:**_ For my purposes, Ryou can drive. So sue me. Actually, don't.

Anyway, I know it's really early for Christmas, but this idea wouldn't leave me alone, so I had to get it out on paper and post it here for everyone to enjoy. XD I'm strange, I know. Moving on. Enjoy, and reviews are much appreciated. Thanks to all who do review, and if you don't, no cookies for you.

Oh, this is chapter one of my first multi-chapter story~ I hope you enjoy it, cause I know I had fun writing it.

_**Disclaimer:**_ There was a knock at the door last night, and when I opened it, I learned that I had been given all rights to YGO! Then I woke up and it was all a dream. I don't own, you no sue. Works for both of us, yeah?

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Bakura was curled up on the sofa, a book open in front of him, though he wasn't really reading. He was more focused on what Ryou was doing - the British teen was hanging colorful lights around the living room, which puzzled the ancient spirit. Why was he doing that? The room already had lights in the ceiling and by the sofas. They supplied enough illumination for the entire place, so why was he adding more?

He observed his lighter half's antics for a few more minutes before he spoke. "Ryou," he said. "What in the name of Ra are you doing?"

Ryou paused, halfway through pinning another string of lights on the wall above the TV. "Putting up lights," he said, sounding puzzled. Wasn't it obvious what he was doing?

"I can see that," Bakura snapped irritably. He hated feeling out of the loop. He liked to know exactly what was going on at all times and why it was happing. "But why are you doing it? What purpose does it serve? There's already enough light in here."

Ryou began to laugh, shaking so much that he fell off the chair that he had been standing on. Landing on the ground with a thud, he lay on the carpet a moment longer before regaining control of himself. Sitting up, mirth still shining in his dark eyes, he grinned at his darker half. "It's for Christmas, silly."

Bakura stared at him. Was the word supposed to mean something to the former spirit? "Care to elaborate?" he asked the British teen. "What's this Chris-whatever-you-said?"

Ryou gaped at him. "Are you serious, Bakura? You don't know about the food, the trees, the presents, the lights, everything?" All he got in response was a blank stare. "Wow," Ryou said softly. "You really don't know."

Bakura glowered at his white haired companion, feeling slightly embarrassed. Should he know what the strange word meant? "Yeah," he mumbled.

Ryou shook his head sadly. "Poor you," he said quietly.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bakura questioned roughly, temper flaring.

Ryou ignored the ill-tempered spirit before him. "I guess you'll just have to see for yourself. C'mon, 'Kura, help me finish putting these lights up, then we'll go get a tree."

Bakura felt more lost than ever. What did a tree have to do with any of this?

Half an hour later, the two were downtown eating lunch at a small diner. Ryou was going on about the best place to buy a tree, as he had been for the last twenty minutes, and it was grating on Bakura's nerves. He could feel his right eye twitching as it did whenever he got annoyed or angry. Didn't this kid know anything? He decided that he'd had enough. He was going to voice his opinion. "Ryou," he said carefully. "Why do we have to buy a tree? I mean, there's plenty in the forest..."

Ryou laughed at the ancient spirit. He seemed to be doing that a lot today, Bakura noticed. "It's a special tree, 'Kura," Ryou explained, as if that made everything clear. "You put presents under it."

Bakura looked baffled. "So it's a tree you sacrifice things to in some sort of ritual. Why would you want one of those? Will it kill you if you don't get one?"

Ryou stared at the white haired young man in front of him, not sure if he was serious or not. After a moment, he saw that the thief was, in fact, truly confused. "No, Bakura," he sighed. "You don't sacrifice things to it. You put lights and decorations on it and place presents under it."

"OK, then..." Bakura said, shaking his head. "More lights. I though you had enough around the house already."

Ryou grinned. "Half the fun at Christmas is the lights and decorations."

An hour and twenty minutes later found Bakura and Ryou out at a Christmas tree farm, bundled up against the cold. The weather was bitter, promising the years first snow to fall very soon. Ryou wondered how Baukra would react to that; if his theories that the thief had never seen snow before were correct, then things promised to get interesting...

"Why on earth do we have to do this?" Bakura mumbled. "It's so cold out here."

"It's for Christmas, Bakura," Ryou insisted. "It'll be fun!"

"Because freezing to death is definitely my idea of a good time," Bakura deadpanned. "Can't we just go home now, Ryou?"

Ryou shook his head. "No, not until we get a tree."

"Look around you! We're surrounded by trees!" Bakura motioned around them as he spoke. Ryou had dragged him out to this stupid place against his will, and he wasn't pleased. "Just pick one so we can leave already!" He paused as a thought struck him. "Where are we, anyway?"

Ryou turned to look at the pale young man who was scowling at him. "We're at a Christmas tree farm," he answered happily. "Now, the sooner we get a tree the sooner we can leave. If you want to get home that badly, you should start helping me. And bring the axe with you, please? It's in the car."

Bakura stared at him. Only the first part had really reached him. "A Christmas tree farm," he breathed. "They have farms for them. This has to be some sort of cult."

An hour later, a numb and ticked off Bakura was still at the Tree Farm of Death, as he had come to call it. Ryou was still as chipper as ever, still running around as if he had endless energy reserves. Bakura wondered how much coffee the British teen had ingested that morning.

"Oh, oh, how about this one?" Ryou asked Bakura excitedly, pointing at yet another tree. To Bakura, it looked exactly the same as all the other trees he had been forced to look at. He merely grunted in response, making Ryou pout. "Come on, 'Kura, it's the holidays! Try and have a little fun, at least!"

Bakura the pale boy his best flat stare. "I'm going to freeze to death and you want me to have fun."

Ryou sighed, rolling his eyes. "We'll get this tree, then we'll go hime. Sound good?"

Bakura smiled, relieved. "Sound excellent."

An hour later, the two finally arrived home, much to Bakura's pleasure. He was still cold, despite having sat in a warm car for the thirty minute drive to get home. It seemed that the bitter weather had seeped into his very bones, leaving a dull ache. This icy weather disagreed with the ancient being who was accustomed to the hot weather of Egypt.

The minute he walked through the door to the house, he made his way directly to the heating system on the wall, not even bothering to remove his coat. He turned it up thirty degrees Celsius, smiling to himself though he knew Ryou would complain about it later.

"Hey, Bakura," the white haired teen called, walking through the door. "I'm going to the basement to get the tree stand, OK?"

Bakura nodded, feeling the house beginning to heat up. "Whatever," he said. "I'm going to make some tea or something. You want some?"

"Sure," Ryou answered, opening the door to the basement.

Five minutes later, Bakura was sprawled out on the sofa, a mug of tea clasped in his hands as he tried to keep the puppy, Max, from getting at it. He heard Ryou walking up behind him, and, turning to tell the boy that his hot drink was in the kitchen, saw a very strange sight. Ryou had sort of red material draped over his head, lights around his neck, and was carrying what looked to be a giant green bowl of sorts. He looked quite pleased with himself, dark eyes shining with joy. Placing the bowl like thing down in an empty corner, instantly attracting the ever curious dog, he turned to look at Bakura. "Look, 'Kura," he said, removing the red fabric from his head. "I found the tree skirt!"

Bakura choked on a mouthful of tea. "The tree what?"

"The tree skirt!"

"Now we're dressing the tree. This has to be come kind of cult."

Ryou laughed. "It's to keep the tree's needles from getting on the floor, not to dress it."

"The why is it called a skirt?" Bakura asked.

Ryou tilted his head to the left. "I really don't know."

Finishing his tea, Bakura stood. "Your tea's in the kitchen, Ryou," he said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.

"Hey, Bakura," Ryou called to his darker half. "Do you think you could help me get the tree inside?"

Bakura paused, sighing. "Fine, I guess."

"Thanks!" He could hear the grin in his lighter self's voice. It was so easy to make him smile, so very easy.

Placing his cup in the sink, he grabbed Ryou's tea, then, removing his jacket as he went, walked back into the now incredibly warm living room. "Here," he said, handing Ryou his mug.

Ryou glanced up at his darker self. "Thanks," he said, smiling softly. Bakura merely grunted in response.

A few minutes later, after Ryou finished his mug of tea, the two braved the cold to get the Christmas tree. Bakura helped Ryou get it down from the top of the car and carry it inside, which took a few tries, seeing as the door seemed to be a lot smaller than they thought it was.

After the third try, Bakura dropped his end of the tree, leaving Ryou to carry all the weight. The slim boy promptly dropped it, the burden too much for him to carry alone. "Bakura," he complained. "Why did you do that?"

Bakura sighed. "I'm cold. My hands are numb."

"Then help me get it inside!"

Twenty minutes and much bickering later, the tree was inside and set up in the green bowl, which Bakura learned was really a tree stand. Ryou placed the tree skirt around the tree, much to Bakura's amusement. The British kid had apparently forgotten that it was supposed to go first, not the tree, so he was lying on his stomach under the tree, trying to fit the tree skirt around the base of the tree. Max wasn't helping any, seeing as he was scared of the tree and kept trying to bite it.

When Ryou finally accomplished his task, he slid out from under the tree, mindful of the terrified puppy, and climbed to his feet. Turning, he grinned at Bakura. "Well, what do you think?" he asked. "I think it looks good."

"I think it looks like a tree in our living room," Bakura answered truthfully, picking up the scared puppy.

Ryou sighed. "Bakura, you're impossible."

The rest of the day passed quietly, Ryou making many trips from the basement to the living room, always bringing at least a box or two up with him. Bakura spent his time watching his lighter half do this, absently petting the dog and occasionally talking to Ryou or getting him something to drink.

When evening finally fell, Bakura persuaded Ryou to take a break at get something to eat. They ended up ordering a pizza as Bakura refused to cook and Ryou was too tired. The young Brit didn't eat much, the exhaustion of the day finally catching up with him. He fell asleep on the couch, leaning up against Bakura.

"Idiot," Bakura whispered, smiling softly down at his lighter self. He gently picked the slim boy up and carried him to his room, where he placed him carefully on the bed, covering him with a blanket. Taking one last glance at the sleeping teen, Bakura then went to his own room to get some sleep.


	2. Of Crazy Shopping Trips and Snow

**A/N:** So, in this Bakura has never seen snow before, just cause I felt like it. And he isn't much of a morning person, like me, though I'm more violent.

Also, I won't be updating for a while cause I won't have internet access. Enjoy! Oh, and if you review, you get a cookie and a cake. :D

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_**Chapter Two: Of Crazy Shopping Trips and Snow**_

The next day started with Ryou bursting into Bakura's room and ripping the blankets off the sleeping thief, abruptly tearing him from a peaceful slumber. "Ryou," he growled shooting a dark look at his companion. "What do you think your doing?" He sat up as he spoke, rubbing a hand through his long white hair. "We don't have school today and we don't have to be anywhere. Go back to bed."

"But Bakura, it's already ten! We have to start-"

"No. We don't. We need to sleep. Go back to bed." This said, Bakura flopped back onto his mattress and placed a pillow over his head in an attempt to drown out whatever Ryou was saying.

"...And then we - Bakura, are you even listening to me?" Ryou pouted at the shirtless thief who lay sprawled out on the bed. Sighing, the dark eyed boy then reached out and tore the pillow away from the white haired young man's grasp, holding it hostage along with the blanket he had stolen earlier.

Bakura rolled onto his side in response, covering his eyes with his arm. "Go 'way," he grumbled. "I want to sleep."

"Fine," Ryou said. "Guess I'll just have to decorate the tree on my own."

That caught Bakura's attention. "Do what to the tree?" he asked, sitting up to look at his lighter half.

Ryou smirked, surprising Bakura. He had rarely seen the normally kind teen with such an expression. "Come down stairs and you'll see." Throwing the blanket and pillow at Bakura's head, he then left the room.

"That little-" Bakura grumbled to himself under his breath, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed and getting to his feet. Pulling a shirt, he walked out the door, following Ryou down the stairs.

Max awaited the two at the bottom of the staircase, excitedly jumping around their feet, causing Ryou to almost trip on more than one occasion.

"Well?" Bakura asked Ryou after they safely made it past the excited puppy.

"Well what?" Ryou responded, stretching.

"Are you going to show me what you meant or what?"

Ryou laughed. "We're going to eat first, of course."

Grinding his teeth, Bakura stalked after Ryou into the kitchen.

Fifteen minutes later, Bakura was forcibly dragging Ryou into the living room. "It does not take that long to eat breakfast," he spat.

Ryou grinned and started to laugh. "OK, Bakura, you win." Gently extracting himself from Bakura's grasp, he made his way over to a box and pulled it open.

Bakura followed him, peering over his shoulder into the box below. Inside lay what reminded him of a large, sparkly worm. "What's that?" he asked, motioning to said object.

"That's tinsel."

"What's it do?"

"You put it on the tree."

"...Oh."

The two then began to decorate the tree, Ryou coaching Bakura in what to do. "No, no, don't out that there, we start with the lights, then the tinsel, then the other stuff, 'Kura." The puppy wasn't much help either, spending most of his time trying to eat whatever moved and getting scared of some of the ornaments.

It took them an hour and a half to decorate the tree until they were both satisfied. Bakura gave up halfway through and flopping down on the sofa to watch Ryou work. He picked up Max, making sure the dog didn't hurt himself or Ryou by a mistake, which, knowing their luck, would've happened.

The rest of the morning was spent in relative peace until Ryou jumped to his feet, scaring Bakura. "We have to go to the mall," he announced. "Bakura, get your jacket."

"Why?" Bakura complained.

"We have to buy gifts for our friends!"

Bakura sighed. "Seriously? They're your friends, not mine."

Ignoring his complaints, Ryou grabbed his darker half and pulled him to his feet, leaving Max on the sofa alone. "Yes, now come on!" He pushed the thief down the hallway and to the front door, where the pale young man grudgingly put his shoes and coat on, complaining to himself all the while.

A few minutes later, the two were in the car, Bakura sulking in the passengers seat. He didn't want to go to the mall! "Why couldn't you go alone, Ryou?" he complained, voicing his opinion.

"I get lonely, and it's always more fun to have someone come with you," Ryou explained calmly.

Bakura sighed, scowling. "Fine. If you say so."

When they reached the mall, it was a mass of humanity walking this way and that, all bundled up against the cold. The conversations that they all carried on created a loud buzzing noise in the background. On top of all that, Christmas music was playing, and festive decorations lined the walls in between stores, and garlands hung from the ceiling.

Bakura was shocked. He had gathered from Ryou that Christmas was big, but this - he hadn't been ready for this.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ryou called, grabbing Bakura's wrist and pulling the thief along behind him. "Come on!" Bakura followed docilely, still taking everything in.

The first store they went to was a game store. Bakura knew that this meant Ryou was picking something out for either Yami, Yugi, or both. Ryou walked through the aisles, looking at all the merchandise critically, while the white haired thief trailed along behind him, gazing around himself in awe. He had been to the mall before, but it had never been as busy or loud as this.

"Hey, 'Kura, what do you think?" Ryou called, holding up two different games. "Which would Yugi like better?"

Bakura sighed, rolling his eyes. "How should I know? You talk to him more than I do."

Ryou shook his head. "You're helpful."

"Anytime, Ryou. Anytime."

The rest of the time at the mall passed rather well. That is, until Bakura came across the man dressed as Santa Claus.

"What the-" he broke off, shocked. "What is that?"

Ryou glanced over to where Bakura was motioning. "Oh, that's Santa Claus."

"That's what?"

Ryou sighed and proceeded to explain. "He supposedly comes into your house on Christmas Eve and-"

"He breaks into your house." Bakura's voice was deadly calm.

"No, no, calm down, it's just a story for the kids-"

"Then why is he sitting right there?"

"It's someone dressed like him, of course."

"Of course," Bakura snorted. "How stupid of me to think otherwise."

Ryou sighed. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "Let's just go."

Two hours and thirty-one minutes later, Ryou and Bakura walked out of the mall, the latter loaded down with many bags. He had quickly become the designated carrier-of-bags. He wasn't quite sure how and when it had happened, but he wasn't please about it. The thief wasn't used to doing such things. Ryou, on the other hand, had only one bag to carry, and was chattering away with a huge smile on his face. He seemed to be excited about something, but Bakura had tuned his lighter self out after the first forty-five minutes, which was probably when the first shopping bag had been handed to him.

Reaching their car, he loaded all the things that Ryou had bought into the back before slamming the trunk shut and gratefully slumping down into the passengers seat. He was tired; who knew that walking around a loud, crowded mall for over two hours could tire you out so quickly? The fact that he had been carrying most of the purchases may have also had something to do with that, but that wasn't the point. Point was, he was exhausted, and wanted nothing more that to go home and do nothing. Ryou, however, had other ideas.

The minute the car started, Ryou began to chatter away. It seemed that he had boundless energy, once again. Bakura didn't remember him drinking any coffee or ingesting anything with sugar in it, but he had been half asleep this morning... "OK, Bakura, now that we're done here, we're going to go-" Ryou began.

"Home." Bakura cut him off, not caring if he sounded rude. He just wanted to go home and crash, maybe sleep for a few hours then possibly do something productive.

"But Bakura, we have so much more to do, and it's only early afternoon!"

"I'm tired and hungry, Ryou. I want to go home."

"What if we went and got something to eat, relaxed while we ate, then went and finished our shopping?" Ryou wheedled, giving Bakura his best puppy eyes.

Bakura made the mistake of looking at the smaller boy. He scowled, mostly at his own lack of willpower, then his expression softened, and he gave in. "I guess that'd work. If it means that much to you..."

Ryou smiled happily, reaching over to pat his friend on the head, ruffling his long hair. "Thanks, 'Kura! You won't regret this."

Arms crossed over his chest, Bakura scowled out the windshield. "I do already," he muttered grumpily. Ryou chose to ignore that little comment, simply smiling at the sulking thief.

The two stopped at a popular fast food place for lunch, opting to eat in a small booth in the back. Bakura glared at the food before him throughout the entire meal; from the way he looked at it you'd think that it had made a personal comment about him.

"Cheer up," Ryou said, reaching across the table to poke his companion. "It's not so bad, is it? I mean, we're only going to a few more places after this."

Bakura mumbled something unintelligible in response, shaking his head. "Your idea and my idea of a few are two totally different things," he finally said, taking a sip from his drink as he spoke. "My few means below ten, where as your's, well, it's a lot more than that. Why did you drag me along, anyway? These are your friends, not mine."

Ryou laughed, annoying the former spirit. "Like I said, it's more fun if you bring someone along."

Bakura shook his head once again, accepting his fate. "Let's just get this over with so I can go home and sleep."

The rest of the meal was spent in stony silence, Ryou having finally drifted off into silence after Bakura glared at him for a while. It seemed that the kid could take a hint, Bakura noted with a grim smile.

They left the fast food joint after twenty minutes, the two pausing by the garbage can to throw out their trash. They then walked out into the bitter cold, Bakura starting to shiver after a few seconds. He hated this weather; it chilled him to the bone, making him wonder if he'd ever be warm again. He found himself longing for the hot sun and golden sands of his childhood, despite the memories that came with them.

After lunch, the first place they went to was - well, Bakura didn't know what it was. All he knew was that it was bright, crowded, and loud. Extremely loud. He decided then and there that he disliked it, and that state of mind was reinforced when a group of four teenaged girls started following him and Ryou, whispering and giggling as they went. Ryou, of course, was oblivious as always, intent on finding the perfect whatever-it-was-that-he-was-looking-for.

Finally, all the whispering, giggling, and other obnoxious noises stepped on the final of his nerved. Eye twitching, he slowly turned around, his scariest glare sliding into place. "Just what," he growled at the teenaged girls, "do you think you are doing?"

The girls paled visibly, quickly turning and walking away, muttering apologies as they went.

Of course, Ryou chose this exact moment to turn to Bakura. He opened his mouth to speak, most likely ask Bakura for his opinion on some stupid object, but the good natured look slipped from his face as he took in the scene. "Bakura," he scolded. "Stop harassing the other shoppers! You should be ashamed of yourself."

"No, you have it all wrong, they-"

Ryou shook his head firmly. "Go apologize."

Bakura was shocked. "Me? Apologize to them? They should be apologizing to us! They've been stalking us for the past I-don't-know-how-long!"

"Bakura, I know you don't want to, but making up stories?" Ryou tutted. "I expected better of you."

"Ryou, stop acting like my mother."

Ryou went to make another comment, but Bakura grabbed his light's arm, dragging him in the general direction of where he thought the cash registers were. Ryou picked up on what the former spirit was saying, and decided that he had gotten all of what he had come to buy.

Getting into the long line, Bakura prepared himself to enter the semi-comatose state he had come to know so well in the last few hours. All the stores they had gone to had been the same in this respect; all had lines so long that he thought he would have wrinkles by the time the exhausted cashier received them.

Ryou took this opportunity bombard the poor thief with more of his ideas for Christmas, most of which revolved around more elaborate shopping trips, food, presents, shopping, decorating, shopping, and more shopping. Smiley grimly to himself, Bakura thought that it'd be a miracle if he was still alive and sane after all this madness.

When the grumpy cashier finished ringing Ryou's purchases through, Bakura grabbed the bags, closed his hand around his light's wrist and forcibly dragged the young Brit out to the parking lot. There the thief was met with a small problem: he had no idea where Ryou had parked the car.

"Er..." he glanced down at the smaller boy. "You do know where you parked the car, right?"

Ryou stared out at the sea of cars. "...No."

"Greeeeat." Bakura smacked himself in the forehead. "This is just wonderful."

Ten minutes later, he thought if he didn't die from the icy weather first, his arms were going to fall off. "What did you buy, Ryou?" he snarled, glaring around himself.

"Just a few things," the British teen answered absently. "You know, some lights-"

"Again with the freaking lights? Don't you have enough? Anymore and I think the house will catch on fire!"

"Ah! Found it!" Ryou cried, ignoring the comment as he pointed two rows over from where they stood to where their blue car waited.

"Finally," Bakura snapped. "I thought my arms were going to break. Are you sure you didn't buy bricks or something?"

Once in the car with the engine going, Bakura turned the heat up as far as it would go, leaning back in the passengers seat. "Next we have to go to Walmart," Ryou informed Bakura.

"Where?" Bakura asked.

"Walmart."

"I wan't aware that we had one here." Bakura said, then paused. "What's a Walmart again?"

A while and much traffic later found the two walking inside a huge building. That is, after on Bakura's insistence, they took careful notes on where they parked the car. He didn't want to walk around looking for the vehicle whilst carrying many shopping bags.

Entering the Walmart, Ryou instantly headed towards the clothing section, Bakura trailing along behind him, feeling a little lost. He had no idea what was going on, why he was here, and what the meaning in life was. And the music that was playing was slowly driving him insane; it was playing the exact same thing as all the other places had been. It was grating on his nerves and giving him the urge to brutally murder innocent bystanders.

Gritting his teeth, he turned to inform Ryou of the fact that they were leaving now, but to his horror found that his former host had disappeared.

A feeling of panic settled over Bakura, something that he hadn't felt in a long while. Were had that kid gotten to? What was he thinking, leaving Bakura alone? What was he to do in the boy's absence? He had no idea where he was, let alone how he had gotten there; he was hopelessly lost in the mass of humanity that surrounded him, streaming by, all absorbed in their own little worlds. He felt his heart began to pound, but forced himself to calm down. It wasn't all that different from the marketplace of ancient Egypt, was it? Sure, it was inside and had annoying music - if you could call it that - was playing in the background, and yes, there were florescent lights that made everything look funny, but besides that it was kind of similar, right? Taking a deep breath, he decided to go look for his lighter self.

Five minutes of walking and he had found no trace of the smaller boy. He glowered at anyone who dared to step into his line of sight, muttering to himself under his breath in his native tongue. Glancing down aisle after aisle as he strode by, he couldn't spot the familiar white hair. He did, however, find someone he knew and loathed.

"Bakura?" the annoyingly familiar voice said.

"Hello, Pharaoh," he spat, glaring at the shorter young man.

"What are you doing here?" Yami asked.

"Looking for Ryou," Bakura answered cooly. "You seen him around here?"

"Oh, Ryou?" Yami answered, smiling slightly.

"I think there's an echo in here," Bakura grumbled, but Yami either didn't hear him or ignored the comment.

"Ryou's right there," Yami continued, motioning behind himself. "You-"

Ignoring his old enemy, Bakura merely grunted in response, pushing past the ancient pharaoh to reach his light. Grabbing the smaller boy's wrist, Bakura dragged him down the aisle, in the opposite direction of the other former shadow. "What did you do that for?" Bakura snapped at Ryou.

"Do what?" Ryou questioned innocently.

"What do you mean, 'do what'? You ditched me!"

"I did?" The British teen looked puzzled. "I thought you had followed me."

"Followed you? I got los- I mean, how could I have seen were you went in that mass of people?"

"I'm sorry," Ryou apologized.

"You can make it up to me by dropping me off at home then finishing you shopping," Bakura announced.

Ryou laughed, the cheerful sound almost lost in the buzz of conversations that surrounded them. "All right, all right. I get it, we'll go home now."

"Thank you! Finally!" Bakura couldn't describe the happiness that the simple sentence invoked. He thought that he could hug the kid, but decided that it would probably traumatize the white haired boy forever if he did.

Just as the duo finally reached their house, the first flakes of white snow began to fall. Bakura didn't see them at first, but when one touched his hand, he noticed that something was off.

"What the-!" He broke off, staring confusedly at the strange substance. "What is that?"

Ryou grinned. He had been waiting for this moment since the beginning of November. "It's snow, 'Kura," he said, mirth lacing his voice.

"Is it clouds?" the former spirit asked, genuinely confused. He had never heard of snow before; it was a new concept for him.

"No, it's snow," Ryou confirmed. "Frozen water. Perfectly normal."

Entranced, Bakura reached out, trying to catch a falling flake. "It looks like clouds," he breathed, a look of childlike innocence and enchantment dominating his features. "It's so pretty..." Ryou laughed, leaving the thief to play with the snow while he took the bags inside.

Bakura finally grew tired of the snow and came inside, removing his shoes and jacket as he crossed the threshold. He closed the door with his foot, careful to not allow Max to escape into the great outdoors. Picking the squirming puppy up and stroking him absently, he wandered into the living room, glancing around for Ryou. However, what he saw made his jaw drop.

"Hey, Ryou?" he called. "I think you need to see this."

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_You'll have to wait for chapter three if you wanna know what happens, and chapter three will come faste if I know people are actually reading this..._


	3. Of Destroyed Things and Grumpy Brits

**A/N:** I apologize for the lateness and shortness, but I was dragged off on a week-long school trip where I had no internet access {the HORROR! How did I survive?}, then came back and got sick. So, again, I apologize, and hope you do enjoy this short chapter. It may not be one of my best, but again, I was away and sick, and because of that I forgot 99.9% of my ideas.

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_**Of Destroyed Things and Grumpy Brits**_

Ryou exited the kitchen to answer the thief's call. "What is i-?" He cut himself off mid-sentence as a string of not-so-pleasant words came pouring out of his mouth, making Bakura chuckle quietly. He didn't know that his little light had such a colorful vocabulary.

It seemed that Max had decided to do some impromptu interior decorating using lights, tinsel, and various decorations from the now mostly bare Christmas tree. Green needles covered the carpet below, mingled with shards of broken ornaments, and the puppy himself sat in the middle of the mess, a string of lights wrapped around him. He looked quite self-satisfied, as if his two masters should be proud of him. However, what the dog thought should happen, didn't.

Bakura was caught between trying not to laugh at the disaster, and being scared of an angry Ryou. He had learned early on that ticking Ryou off was never a good idea, and at this point, even the smallest chuckle would probably earn him quite the fierce tongue thrashing, and most likely get kicked out of the house for a while.

To say that the former host was looking extremely angry was an understatement. His eye was twitching as he ground his teeth, a snarl twisting his features. He nearly shaking with rage as he muttered very violent death threats. At this point, he resembled Bakura more than the soft-spoken Ryou that everyone knew and loved. That dog had all but destroyed the entire living room, creating a mess larger than should have been possible for such a small creature!

Forcing himself to not kill or main anyone, Ryou turned on his heel and stormed away; he thought it best to leave before he said or did something he only regret later. Making his way up the stairs, he stalked into his bedroom, slamming the door shut with such force that it shook on its hinges and the sound echoed throughout the house.

Downstairs, Bakura and the puppy exchanged looks, one of them wide-eyed and innocent, the other barely holding in gales of laughter.

As soon as he deemed it safe, Bakura collapsed on the sofa, entire frame shaking with laughter. Grabbing a pillow, he bit it, trying to muffle the sound so that Ryou wouldn't come downstairs and murder him brutally for laughing at the situation. He felt Max jump up beside him, licking the thief's nose enthusiastically. Apparently, the dog thought Bakura's good humor meant that he had done something right.

Eventually calming down, Bakura dropped the pillow, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes. "Oh, Max," he sighed, rubbing his soar ribs. "You are so lucky if Ryou doesn't kill you..." Another chuckled escaped him. "But his reaction... I didn't even think he knew how to use those words! He always seems so freaking angelic!"

The puppy looked confused, but snuggled up against his master, tail thumping the couch.

Gently pushing the puppy aside, Bakura stood and picked up a string of lights, looking at it thoughtfully. "I suppose fixing this up may prevent Ryou from killing us both," he muttered, glancing at the contented puppy sprawled out on the sofa. Sighing, the former spirit began to redecorate the tree as best he could, guessing when he couldn't figure something out.

Ten minutes later, he was glaring at a string of lights, trying to remember what Ryou had done with it. "I think he plugged it into something..." he muttered, casting a quick look around until his gaze alighted upon a power socket. "Ah! There it is!" He hurried over to it and shoved the end of the cord into it, but jerked his hand back, dropping said item, when blue sparks flew out, startling him. "What the-" He felt his fingers tingle. "I don't remember it doing that when Ryou was here." Deciding it safer to leave for the British teen to do, he left the lights alone and continued with his task.

He finished roughly half an hour after he started, then proceeded to clean the rest of the room, vacuuming the carpet so it was clear of both pine needles and shards of broken ornaments. When he was done, he flopped down on the sofa, careful to avoid squishing Max. He stare up at the ceiling, hearing Ryou pacing back and forth upstairs. "I wonder what he's thinking..." the former spirit mused, listening to the creaks caused by Ryou's slow steps.

Minutes later, the thief's stomach growled, breaking his concentration and alerting him to the fact that it was now eight o'clock, and he hadn't eaten since noon. Getting to his feet, he wandered over to the kitchen, trying his best not to trip over the grey puppy that was joyfully bounding around his feet. Sighing, he carefully navigated his way to the fridge, where he opened the stainless steel door, allowing some of the cool air trapped inside to escape. He then grabbed a container of leftover shepherds pie, and, after getting two plates form the cupboard, scraped some onto both porcelain dishes, which he then placed in the microwave.

When the machine dinged, Bakura grabbed the plates, setting one on the counter for himself, and getting a fork to put with the other one so he could take it to Ryou. He assumed that the younger boy would be hungry as well, and would appreciate the food.

Ascending the staircase in a matter of moments, he stopped at the door to Ryou's bedroom. Gently kicking to door to alert his light to his presence, the thief waited until the door was opened. "Hey," he said, offering the British teen a slight smile. "Brought you something to eat."

"Thanks," Ryou said quietly, accepting the proffered plate.

Nodding, a small smile on his face, Bakura then turned and walked away, heading back to the kitchen.

The evening passed quietly, snow still falling outside, illuminated by both the street lamps and the light of the occasional car that would drive by. Bakura sat by the window, watching it drift to the ground despite the fact that he could barely see it. It entranced him, this snow. He had never seen anything like it except in the movies that he would watch with Ryou sometimes, but it had never occurred to him that it could be real! It had seemed to far fetched at the time, but here he was, watching it gently touch the ground, coating it in a fine white powder...

Bakura heard Ryou descending the stairs, but didn't look up or acknowledge that he was aware of anything. He though it safer this way. He wasn't quite sure what kind of mood the white haired boy would be in, and decided to wait and see before doing anything.

His lighter half paused when he saw the dimly lit living room, the only source of illumination the golden glow from the lamp that stood by the sofa where Bakura sat, gazing out the window and into the snowy night. Ryou shook his head, taking in the sight. The tree had been redecorated, albeit a bit messier than it had been before, and the lights weren't plugged in, but that was easily remedied. "I can't believe he did this," Ryou whispered, a smile creeping onto his features. "I though he'd be too lazy!"

Bakura tilted his head back to get shoot his light a look. "I heard that," he grumbled, scowling.

Ryou chuckled slightly, coming to sit beside the former spirit. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I really appreciate what you did, though."

"No problem," the thief responded. "Wasn't that bad."

"You redecorated the tree, I see."

"Yeah, and when I tried to plug the lights into that thing over there," he gestured towards the power outlet as he spoke, "it tried to electrocute me!"

Ryou looked puzzled. "What?"

"Blue sparks jumped at me when I touched it!" Bakura looked dead serious as he spoke.

"Oh, that's perfectly normal," Ryou said, waving it off. "Happens all the time."

"N- normal?" Bakura stammered. "That's normal?" Ryou nodded. "You people really are insane. As if the trees weren't bad enough already with their cult and all-"

"Bakura, there is not 'Cult of the Trees' or whatever you called it."

"I didn't call it anything! You just named it! That must mean it's real!"

Ryou smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh, you are too much. You're impossible. There is no cult, no conspiracy, nothing. It's just a tree."

"That you bring into your house and decorate."

"Well, yes, but-"

"It's a cult! Everyone's doing it, and they all put presents under it, am I right?"

"Er, yeah, but 'Kura-"

"So it's a cult!"

"No, it's not!"

"Then explain it to me."

"You know what? I give up. I'm going to bed." That said, Ryou got to his feet, shaking his head at the antics of the former spirit. "Night, 'Kura," he called as he made his way up the stairs.

"Night, Ryou," the thief replied, getting up to follow his light. It had been a long day, and sleep sounded amazing at this point. Trailing behind the smaller boy, he bid Ryou good night again by the British teen's bedroom door, then headed off to his own room for a welcome rest.

* * *

_Chapter Four will posted soon... I hope._


End file.
